Although there is considerable evidence that
humans lived in the Pacific Northwest 15,000 years ago, the first record of human
activity in present day Oregon came from archaeologist Luther Cressman's 1938 discovery
of sage bark sandals near Fort Rock Cave that places human habitation in Oregon
as early as 13,200 years ago. By the 16th century Oregon was home to many Native
American groups, including the Bannock, Chasta, Chinook, Kalapuya, Klamath, Molalla,
Nez Perce, Takelma, and Umpqua. It is estimated that there were 125 distinct Northwestern
tribes in the area at that time.
Spanish and English sailors are believed to
have sighted the Oregon coast in the 1500s and 1600s. Capt. James Cook, seeking
the Northwest Passage, charted some of the coastline in 1778. In 1792, Capt. Robert
Gray, in the Columbia, discovered the river named after his ship and claimed the
area for the U.S.
In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition explored
the area. John Jacob Astor's fur depot, Astoria, was founded in 1811. Disputes for
control of Oregon between American settlers and the Hudson Bay Company were finally
resolved in the 1846 Oregon Treaty, in which Great Britain gave up claims to the
region.
During the early 1800s, American, English,
and French fur traders came to Oregon. Traders from John Astor's Pacific Fur Company
built Astoria, the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains,
in 1811. During the War of 1812, Astoria was sold to the Hudson Bay Company. John
McLoughlin ran the company. He kept peace with the Indians and built Fort Vancouver.
McLoughlin is now remembered as the "Father of Oregon."
With the opening of the Oregon Trail in 1841,
pioneers settled in the fertile Willamette Valley. Gold discoveries in the high
country and along the coast led to further settlement. However, these provoked tragic
wars with the Native Americans, which concluded with the Indians surrendering of
all their lands.
In 1819 Spain ceded their earlier claims on
this land to the United States, although the British disputed it and the area existed
for several decades under contentious joint control.
Because of boundary disputes with Britain,
citizens of both countries were free to trade and settle Oregon Country. In 1846,
the United States signed an agreement with Great Britain on a boundary fixed at
the 49th parallel. Oregon became a territory in 1848. Wars with Native Americans
began in 1847. Settlers were massacred, and conflicts rose with the discovery of
gold. In 1856, Cayuse and Rogue Indians were removed to a reservation on the central
coast of Oregon.
The Oregon Country was made a U.S. Territory
in 1848 and the territorial government met in 1849 in Oregon City. In 1853 Washington
Territory was created north of the Columbia River. Oregon was granted statehood
in 1859 as the 33rd state, with the capital established in Salem. Oregon continued
to grow rapidly. Lumber mills, farming, and mining encouraged people to move west
for opportunity. The Oregon Donation Land Act offered 320 acres of free Oregon land
to each man. To protect those migrating to the state, the United States government
forced Native Americans to move onto reservations. The Modoc, Nez Perce, and Bannock
Indians fought for years against the U.S. Army for their homeland, but by the end
of the 1890s, all Native Americans in Oregon were living on reservations.
In 1912, Oregon became the sixth state to allow
women to vote. The following year, Oregon was the first state to pass a good minimum-wage
law.
During the Great Depression (1929-1939), many
Oregonians became unemployed. The federal government provided jobs through construction
of the Bonneville Dam. It provided power to many new industries developed in Oregon
during World War I. With new technology and more uses for wood and paper, the lumber
industries also improved. The Owyhee Dam, completed in 1932, provided irrigation
water for more farmland in the Owyhee and Snake river valleys.
By 1940, Oregon's population had passed one
million. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, many people feared that Japanese-Americans
would secretly help Japan during World War II. Of the more than 100,000 imprisoned
in special camps, 4,000 were from Oregon. During the war, Oregon produced war materials
and became a major shipping port for sending supplies to the U.S. forces in the
Pacific. Thousands of people came from other states to work in the factories, and
then settled in the state after the war.
In 1964, the worst floods in Oregon's history
killed several people and caused millions of dollars in damage. During the 1970s,
other dams were completed on the Columbia and Snake rivers that provided transportation
from the mouth of the Columbia River to Lewiston, Idaho.
Another economic depression hit Oregon during
the 1980s. Fewer people were building homes, and new laws to protect timberlands
were restricting Oregon's logging. Between 1982 and 1992, about 40,000 Oregon lumber
workers lost their jobs. Low prices for farm products also contributed to the problem.
By 1985, several wood related industries had begun to recover. Agricultural expansion
into fruit, grass seed, nursery, nut, and wine industries also improved Oregon's
economic conditions. Electronic and computer companies moved into Oregon at that
time as well.
Oregon has a $3.3 billion lumber and wood products
industry, and an $859 million paper and allied manufacturing industry. Its salmon-fishing
industry is one of the world's largest.
In agriculture, the state leads in growing
peppermint, cover seed crops, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, black raspberries,
and hazelnuts. It is second in raising hops, red raspberries, prunes, snap beans,
and onions.
With the low-cost electric power provided by
dams, Oregon has developed steadily as a manufacturing state. Leading manufactured
items are lumber and plywood, metalwork, machinery, aluminum, chemicals, paper,
food packing, and electronic equipment.
Oregon Famous People
-
Beverly Cleary (1916 - ) Children's novelist who wrote the Ramona Quimby
books; born in McMinnville.
-
Abigail Scott Duniway (1834 - 1915) Journalist and woman-suffrage leader;
lived in Lafayette.
- Dick
Fosbury (1947 - ) Invented the ?Fosbury Flop? move in high jumping, flipping
over the bar backwards. Set an Olympic record in 1968; born in Portland.
- Matt Groening
(1954 - ) Cartoonist whose drawings became The Simpsons television show; Portland
native.
- Ursula LeGuin (1929 - ) Author.; She has written fantasy novels and short
stories, including The Wizard of Earthsea trilogy and The Left Hand
of Darkness; lives in Portland.
-
Edwin Markham (1852 - 1940) Famous poet born in Oregon City who is frequently
called the ?Dean of American Poetry.? Works include The Man with the Hoe, and Lincoln,
Man of the People.
- John McLoughlin (1784 - 1857) Built Fort Vancouver and is
known as the ?Father of Oregon.?
- Ahmad
Rashad (1949 - ) Played 11 years in the NFL. He is currently an NBC Sportscaster;
born in Portland.
- Doc Severinsen (1927 - ) Band leader and jazz trumpet player. He was the
band leader for the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson hosted it.
- Lindsay Wagner (1949 - ) Actress. She starred in the TV series, The Bionic
Woman; lived in Portland.